
About two weeks ago whilst preparing for teaching our photography students I took a walk in the quiet backstreets of Tbilisi in a neighbourhood full of beautiful decaying 19th century buildings. I was preparing to take photos for a charity event called Children for Children where our students would be taking images to be sold at auction in order to help disadvantaged children here in Georgia.

I wish I’d been in that meeting. You know, the one where East Riding County Council instructed Jacobs Enforcement Services to recover an outstanding parking…
I intend to do what little one man can do to awaken the public conscience, and in the meantime I am not frightened by your…
When Barack Obama was elected President of the United States in 2008 this was treated as a landmark event. He presented himself as the underdog,…

Freedom has been the ultimate battle cry of liberal politics. It has shaped the battle field from the French revolution, the American war of independence,…

“The more laws and commands there are, the more thieves and robbers there will be.” Lao Tzu Information leaked in the Panama Papers about the use…

When we find ourselves in need of a miracle there is a simple formula that can be applied: “Don’t panic, take stock, and do the…

Creative capitalism, ethical capitalism, altruistic capitalism, natural capitalism, green capitalism, distributed and democratic capitalism. Capitalism 2.0? Capitalism comes with a potpourri of sweet-scented prefixes, all…

Separating economics and politics is impossible, so it’s important to point out that the misguided notion of austerity is not just killing people, but also…

Ever since the financial crisis of 2008, one thing has taken centre stage when it comes to economic recovery: job creation. It is under this…
Steve Keen is one of very few economists globally who perfectly predicted the 2008 financial crisis. More recently he also predicted the Chinese economic downturn and deflation in Europe. How does he keep getting these predictions correct? The secret is to look at the elements of the economy that all mainstream economists deliberately ignore.

The late fourteen hundreds saw the scramble of enlightened countries towards conquest of what was once known as “the new world”. Fuelled by the righteous…

As the lifespan of every company shortens, paying lip service to change is dangerous and following the herd can be fatal. I’ve recently been working…
In this bonus sequence from our Meet the Renegades show, writer John Lanchester talks about the London housing crisis, it’s social impacts and it’s consequences…
In this episode of Meet The Renegades we speak to economics writer Martin Sandbu from the Financial Times.
His recently released book ‘Europe’s Orphan: The Future of the Euro and the Politics of Debt’ attacks the current thinking of what politicians and policy makers in Brussels and Frankfurt consider to be self-evident.

“Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place.” So said the Red Queen to Alice…
On this episode of Meet the Renegades, Ross Ashcroft welcomes Christian Felber - author, lecturer and founder of the Economy for the Common Good.
From Aristotle to Adam Smith economics was a school of thought based on Natural Laws and philosophy. How come we have strayed so far from our roots? What really has the Mont Pelerin Society got to do with Reaganomics and Thatcherism?

There are vast numbers of Zombie companies out there who are paying off nominal interest payments on huge debts in order to keep the lights…
Ross Ashcroft speaks to Anat Admati, Finance and Economics professor at Stanford School of Business. She is author of The Bankers’ New Clothes and gives a truthful view into the banking sector and the damage it has caused to the real economy.
David Graeber, anthropologist and author of Debt: The First 5000 years, explains in this ‘Comment is Free’ video that ‘if the government balances its books, it becomes impossible for the private sector to do the same. And, he claims, this inevitable debt often gets landed on those in society least able to pay it back’.
Currently we are taxed on what we produce, perhaps it would be more progressive to tax land instead of our labour?
From Camp Kotok in Maine, Ross Ashcroft speaks to Leland Miller, president of China Beige Book International. They discuss the current landscape of the Chinese economy…
In this Renegade Inc. talk show at Camp Kotok in Maine, Ross Ashcroft speaks to Matt Tyrmand from the NGO American Transparency which focuses on government accountability….
At Camp Kotok in Maine, USA, Ross Ashcroft speaks to author, columnist, equities analyst and CIO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Barry Ritholtz. They discuss the…
Ross Ashcroft speaks to David Kotok, founder of Camp Kotok, in Maine, and Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Cumberland Advisors. They discuss the origins and…
In this extract from the documentary Four Horsemen, some of the world’s leading economists discuss the myth of trickle down economics.

Make no mistake, the purposeful exclusion of growing numbers from economic activity is an integral aspect of the economic system. The argument that there is…

Making a job, not taking a job means so much more than simply turning your back on employment and setting up on your own. It is more a way of life, a new distinctive multiple income stream lifestyle. It requires a new way of thinking, and not relying on big business or government to put our best interests first.

Fractional reserve banking began in Britain in the early days of gold and silver coinage, when people would deposit their coins with goldsmiths for safekeeping….

We need a more sophisticated debate about business and how it impacts on wider society, writes Mark Braund.

In 2008 the Queen asked Luis Garicano, an economics professor at The London School of Economics, why nobody saw the global financial crisis coming. He…
How can we begin to reduce crime if corporations profit from having full jails?

Looking at the terms of the Greek bailout one thing is abundantly clear: this is not only a heartless deal, but a brainless one as…

Anyone who believes in the possibility of a better world should support Labour leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn, even if they’re not convinced by his traditional left-wing agenda, argues Mark Braund.

Can Greece ever pay off its debts, adopt a German economic mindset and stay in the euro? Since 2010 we have been gripped by the…

Most people equate money with wealth, but in economic terms money and wealth are quite separate things. Wealth can be defined as those goods and…

When the worst rioting in a generation hit the streets of English cities last summer, politicians and pundits rushed to apportion blame. Many of the…

The material benefits of a perpetually expanding economy have reached remarkably few people, despite the speed with which mainstream economic thinking has penetrated all corners…

Critics of the current economic system condemn our modern-day ‘culture of consumption’. If we measure progress over the course of our lives purely by increased…

Our life prospects and our capacity to secure the wealth we need to survive and flourish are determined by the amount of economic power we…

Before we can build a brave new world, we have to acknowledge the depth of the current crisis. It’s tempting to trace today’s problems back…

The pursuit by individuals of limitless material prosperity – regardless of the consequences for others – has become the basis of all economic activity. Yet…

In the ancient world, empire building usually entailed the territorial conquest of one self-identifying group by another. Typically it involved exploitation based on racial or…
In this extract from the documentary Four Horsemen, Professor Michael Hudson explains how the German Debt was cancelled in 1947.

Changes to the monetary and taxation systems will provide mechanisms for curtailing two of the three forms of unearned wealth that drive much of the…
Supporters of the current free-market economy argue that competition among producers ensures efficiency and keeps prices as low as possible. This argument sounds reasonable in…

Since the crash, taxpayers’ money has been used to bail out failing banks because they are perceived to be too big to fail. Are they…

Generally, loans are made (and money is created) for one of three purposes: to fund direct investment in the creation of new tangible wealth; to…

If people feel alienated when they are denied access to decent economic opportunities, then it must be the case that an inclusive economy would have…

Although the current crisis is possibly the most serious and complex in human history, it follows a pattern that has existed since ancient times. The…

The following books have inspired our thinking for the Four Horsemen film and our Survival Manual book.
Kim Hill from Radio New Zealand discusses Greece, austerity and Europe’s future with Ross Ashcroft on her Saturday Morning show.
Harold Crooks, Director of “The Price We Pay” and John Christensen, Director and Co-founder of Tax Justice Network discuss the Robin Hood tax, the capture of the political class by the financial industry and the hope that lies in civil society’s intensifying fight for tax justice in the second half of this interview series.
Harold Crooks, Director of “The Price We Pay” and John Christensen, Director and Co-founder of Tax Justice Network come to the studio to talk about the ‘finance curse’, taxation and the sustainability of democracy in the first half of this interview series.
Roman Krznaric, author of ‘Empathy: Why it matters and how to get it”, talks to us about empathy in the age of self interest.

The Fabian Society invited Nicola Smith of the TUC, Dan Corry - once a Labour government adviser – and me to address their Summer Conference…

The chances of reducing the number of lives ruined by war and other forms of social violence depend on our ability to identify the root…

Everyone has a basic right to shelter, which they should be able to call home. A home should not be an investment but a place…
Ross Ashcroft interviews Ann Pettifor director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics, PRIME and fellow at New Economics Foundation. They discuss Ann’s 2003 prediction of the…

Changes on the scale and complexity outlined in this book will require global coordination if they are to be effectively implemented. The power of vested…
Steve Keen Interview - Part 4: As we enter the age of volatility, what does this mean for our pensions?

In 1970, ninety per cent of financial flows were used to finance trade or investment in the real economy; only ten per cent was speculative….

The use of precious metals as money goes back nearly three thousand years. Until quite recently, gold and other metals (notably silver) were the basis…
How is it that we’ve ended up with a system in which banks have the power to create money? In this extract from Four Horsemen we explain what Fiat money is.
Watch our ‘Comment is Free’ piece with The Guardian.

Perhaps surprisingly, the term ‘military-industrial complex’ was coined by a former soldier. On the occasion of his farewell address to the nation after serving two…

Steve Keen Interview - Part 1: In the aftermath of the Conservatives’ surprise victory in the UK, Steve Keen tells us why he thinks this…
The cognitive map that has been put in place by our schools, universities and our media does not encourage us to question accepted norms… instead there is apathy.

Apart from supine politicians, the greatest friends of the elite are those who control much of the mass media. The elite have proved exceptionally adept…

The following list is neither definitive nor exhaustive, but it summarises the main points of the book and is provided here as a starting point…

Freddie Gray’s death was the last straw for the victims of a corrupt financial system that has left tens of thousands of people with no work and no homes. This excerpt from ‘Four Horsemen -The Survival Manual’ gives context to the riots in Baltimore by explaining some of the broader issues at hand.

The wider public is depressingly disinterested in the workings of the economy; nowhere is this more evident than in their ignorance of the monetary system….
Current best practices in risk management work only when correlations are stable. At turning points historical relationships between assets breakdown. The only way to effectively…

As a way of securing wealth without engaging in real economic activity – the act of combining land, labour and capital to create something with…

Since they first appeared in the New Testament, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have ridden roughshod into the consciousness of every generation. They remain…
In this latest show Renegade Economist host Ross Ashcroft talks with Larry Lamb, George Lamb and Roger Mavity about todays relevance of the American Dream…
Tarek El Diwany on the flawed concept of trickle-down economics.

Ed Milliband’s conference speech in Liverpool (2011) was typical of any populist career politician. The central theme was “I’m different so you can trust me…
Ross Ashcroft talks to George Cooper, author of Money, Blood & Revolution. In the book he suggests that the economics profession is itself in a…
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson explains that for the first time in history the standard of living is in decline.
Dr Ha-Joon Chang explains why there really isn’t any such thing as a free market.
We will not return to ‘business as usual’. The Four Horsemen is an independent feature documentary from us which lifts the lid on how the…
At issue is who shall rule the world: the emerging 1% as a financial oligarchy, or elected governments. The two sets of aims are antithetical: rising living standards & national independence, or a renting economy, austerity & international dependency.
Michael Hudson
What is the fall-out from a financial industry now so detached from the rest of society?

Many people instinctively know that something is seriously wrong with the economy. Long before the historic events of 2008 things were far from good, especially…
Former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson on debt slavery and abuse of power.
Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence Magazine, argues that the exploitation of nature and humans is inbuilt in the nature of capitalism and socialism.
Ross Ashcroft from Renegade Economist speaks with Steve Keen whilst he was in London to launch his new book ‘ Debunking Economics: The Emperor Dethroned?’
Matthew Watson is Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Warwick University.
We ask James Turk if Government intervention in Central Banking is a help or hinderance to the free market.

Since the financial crisis that struck in 2008, the failings of the banking system have been laid bare for all to see. But, four years…
Let’s rethink - Natural Capital vs Man Made Capital…

If there was a form of “conscious capitalism” in which care was extended to fellow humans, animals and the natural environment whether animate or inanimate,…
Four Horsemen is an award winning independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works.
Prof. Josef Stiglitz discusses drug companies and pharmaceuticals.

Since the advent of agriculture, and the realization by certain people that control over land is the surest route to political power, all human societies…
When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in this society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.
Frédéric Bastiat

If the very workings of the economic system are denying people the opportunity to take responsibility for their own wellbeing, is it any wonder that…

Land rent is one of several sources of unearned wealth that bestow privileges on a minority of citizens while biasing the economy against the interests…
Multimillionaire Next boss slams Living Wage campaign - a Tory peer, of course http://t.co/JkKJQ7RybK
— Renegade Economist (@RenegadeEcon) March 21, 2015 Capitalism tries for a delicate balance: it attempts to work things out so that everyone gets just enough stuff to keep them from getting violent and trying to take other people's stuff.
George Carlin
The Renegade Economist goes to New York to hear Prof. Michael Hudson’s views on the state of the US Economy.

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Animal Spirits by George A Akerlof and Robert J Shiller. In the preface to their book they discuss how Keynes’s General…
Ross Ashcroft interviews Julia Noakes, author of the soon to be released book ‘Bankers on the Couch’.
Renegade Economist talk show with Ann Pettifor.
Neo-classical models are neat, plausible, and wrong. The main reason that mainstream economics survived the challenge of the global financial crisis is not because of its strength, but because of it's irrelevance.
Steve Keen

Haven’t we been here before? Three centuries ago philosophers began to address these questions in the movement known as the Enlightenment. Immanuel Kant described it…
Michael Hudson recounts his personal experience with mortgages.
The former economic hit-man explains why we are all in this together.
Dr Ha-Joon Chang explains how we have developed a system of neoclassical economics and the power play which brought us here.
Debt is big business for banks, corporations and governments. Let Bill show you just how big…
Tarek El Diwany explains the beginning of manufactured money.

There is an accepted view in politics and the media that roughly equates to this: a professional class of ‘experts’ are far better at commentary…
Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson on the struggles we face in the future.

Since 1984 (surely an appropriate year) while the elderly have grown their wealth in nominal terms, the young are much worse off both in inflation-adjusted terms, as well as nominal terms(pretty hard to believe given that the money supply has expanded eightfold in the intervening years). So why are the elderly doing over fifty times better than the young when they were only doing ten times better before?
Look around. Oil companies guzzle down the billions in profits. Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries, and Wall Street CEOs, the same ones that direct our economies and destroyed millions of jobs still strut around Congress, no shame, demanding favours, and acting like we should thank them. Does anyone here have a problem with that?
Elizabeth Warren

UK politics is dominated by middle England pre-occupations, there are vaguely hysterical fears of the UK having a ‘Depardieu moment’, and capital flight in case of…
The story behind the documentary.
Prof. Richard Wilkinson discusses Reagan and Thatcher’s policies and how they contributed to the rise in income differences.
Prof Joseph Stiglitz explains why GDP is flawed and how to begin to change that…

Over centuries, systems have been subtly modified, manipulated and sometimes purposefully corrupted to better serve the interests of the few. Each time Enlightenment ideals have…
Former IMF chief economist Simon Johnson discusses the leverage of Wall Street banks in Washington D.C.
A former Wall Street trader discusses the risks of interest rates.
Hugo Salinas Price argues the benefits of a return to silver.
Michael Hudson predicts the new financial balance by analysing the current situation of countries that are ahead of us in the curve.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve used the words ‘elite’ and ‘minority’ in this series on unearned wealth, but I’m certainly not going to…
John Perkins on how the real modern empire has been created. Have we really moved on from the Romans?
John Perkins on how corporations must operate in ways that serves future generations.
David Morgan explain why he doesn’t believe the Western world will experience a hyperinflation.

These arguments appear irreconcilable. So who is right? And how could there have been any doubt? The reason the argument rages so often is that…
Gillian Tett discusses why Britain is in a very difficult position today.
The idea that society can set up a single "independent" committee of men to make far reaching decisions about the quantity of money needed by a nation of sixty four million people, all engaged in varied and complex activities - is bordering on authoritarian.
Ann Pettifor
Four Horsemen - German language version
Prof. Michael Hudson gives a series on the global economic crisis. Views you will not get in the mainstream.
Michael Hudson reveals the real motives behind the international bailout package.
Michael Hudson address the economic issues that now face everyone.
We now need to make a job not take a job. The co-operative structure is a wonderful solution to widespread unemployment
Professor Michael Hudson talks about the importance of economic rent.
We now live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the press destroys information, religion destroys morals, and our banks destroy the economy.
Chris Hedges
Nick talks about corporate tax avoidance.
We met Ben Dyson and Andrew Jackson from Positive Money. Listen to their proposals to reform the monetary system.
Ross Ashcroft talks about the Scandinavian reaction to the film.
No volveremos al negocio de siempre. Four Horsemen es un documental independiente que revela cómo funciona realmente el mundo.
Neo-liberal politicians want to re-inflate the housing bubble… is that wise?
Ross Ashcroft gives the 2012 keynote for the Renegade Economist Winter Series.
Authors Mark Braund & Ross Ashcroft introduce the accompanying book to the film Four Horsemen.
A bonus feature from Larry Lohman.
Four Horsemen Director Ross Ashcroft answers questions arising from the film.
David Malone is the author of The Debt Generation and also an independent filmmaker covering philosophy, science and religion. David is a fierce critic of…
This is the future of banking. Like during the 16th Reformation you either evolve or die. Watch why…
What we have been living for three decades is frontier capitalism, with the frontier constantly shifting location from crisis to crisis, moving on as soon as the law catches up.
Naomi Klein

The standard economic model is a brilliant piece of mathematics, winning Nobel Prizes for its originators Kenneth Arrow and Gerard Debreu. It proves how if…

So, what should economics be about? Well, that depends on your values and world view. If you believe that everyone should have an equal chance…
Ha-Joon Chang unpicks the selfish worker paradox…

It’s what’s left unsaid All the talk from politicians, economists and even most journalists is of government debt to GDP ratios. All of the problems…
The Four Horsemen is an independent feature documentary which lifts the lid on how the world really works

As Gillian Tett of The Financial Times observes, “Most societies have an elite and the elite try to stay in power; and the way they…
Former World Bank chief economist Josef Stiglitz discusses the false assumptions of what leads to economic efficiency.

Some people just care about practical or personal concerns, and value capture is just as relevant from this perspective. Through it we begin to replace…
Satish Kumar, editor of Resurgence Magazine, explains why society would benefit from a cyclical economy rather than a linear economy, which is the product of…

You own yourself, and by extension you own what you make through labour or voluntary transactions thereof. Land, however, is not a fruit of labour.
People tend to think that numbers are quite objective, but numbers in economics are not like this. Some economists say they're like sausages: you don't know what they really are until you cut into them.
Ha-Joon Chang
Hugo Salinas Price maps out the current location of Germany’s gold.

Anything less than an equal share is a violation of the Law of Equal Liberty, for any exclusive claim over natural opportunities necessarily reduces the opportunities…

The answer depends on two things: how those profits are derived, and what happens to them. Last week we noted how the senior executives and…
Ross Ashcroft speaks with Richard Vague - former banker and author of The Next Economic Disaster. They talk about his insights into private debt and…

Education Seen in a longer timeframe, education is best imparted from kindergarten and up. In this regard it can be said that true education is…

Throughout the 19th century the integrity of economics was steadily eroded. Whereas the ‘classical’ founders of the discipline had set their enquiries in the rapidly changing…
An honest money system is the only alternative.
Frederick Soddy
Wall Street analyst Michael Hudson explains how property tax could help rebuild infrastructures.
With the Church of England in disarray who better to talk to about dissent and the occupy movement than the legendary turbulent priest.

At the beginning of this series, I suggested a definition of wealth as ‘the ability to purchase in the market place those goods and services…

Mainstream economic models ignore debt. The argument goes like this: if I lend you £1 then you have +£1 and I have -£1; and -1…

This book does not call for a lurch back to the left, however. If politics is to be of any use in facing down the…
James Turk, founder of Goldmoney.com, discusses gold as a natural form of money.
Max Keiser describes Goldman Sachs as the Exxon Valdez of banks.
Reverend Donald Reeves on the wiping off of debts.
Alastair talks about architecture, land, design and hitting the greatest monopoly of all…
Is “Trickle-Down” prosperity the greatest lie ever told?
It is entirely natural for parents to want to support their children in every way possible, and for some this includes making financial provision for…
Barrister and School Principal Ian Mason addressed the UN: One World One Wealth - Economics, Justice and the Rights of Nature. We ask him how…
Wall Street has become a very specific type of casino. Unfortunately it's not the type they have in Las Vegas that is a legitimate form of entertainment. It's a casino that has massive negative effects on the rest of society.
Simon Johnson

In Britain the term “Lost Generation” was originally used for those who died in World War I. People mourned that “the best of the nation…
former Wall Street trader Max Keiser discusses copyright laws, currency and the tax system.
How can countries implement independent policies amidst the wave of the globalisation mantra? We ask Herman Daly what does “Globalisation” really mean to him?
First, if the city or state developed following the course of a river system and the river suddenly changed direction or dried up, its economy…

The Victorian age was one of great progress and great folly, and particularly a time of great ideas. While we scoff at buttoned down Victorian…

There is nothing to be gained from blaming bankers, politicians or even economists for the current crisis. They flatter themselves if they think they created…
Confidence is the foundation of Fiat money. Is it stable?
David Morgan reflects on the BabyBoomer’s tenure.
Was the Cold War a battle between capitalism and socialism?

Interviewed by the Financial Times (June 7th 2003), Friedman admitted that, “The use of the quantity of money as a target has not been a…
Ross Ashcroft catches up with Britain’s Buy to Let King Fergus Wilson, a man who bizarrely seems to be totally in the dark to the…
Let's reorganize enterprises in our society so that all the workers together make the decisions - what to produce, how to produce, where to produce and what to do with the profits.
Richard Wolff
Gillian Tett explains what actually happened when Communism fell in Russia. For ‘Robber Baron’ you can also read ‘rent seeker’.
What really counts for our happiness and welfare? Professor Herman Daly on what’s important for economic man.
Former Wall Street trader and founder of Karma Bank Max Keiser gives Christmas cheer to Renegade Economist viewers.
Ross and Megan Ashcroft preparing for the premiere of The Four Horsemen.

The time for change Despite a faltering economy and the increasing squeeze on living standards, rising house prices remain persistently but not unsurprisingly viewed as…
The very thing which built the Western Empire has been forgotten…

But it’s more than that, because the theory says that to reach equilibrium (the point at which prices match everyone wishing to buy with someone wishing to…
Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes it's laws.
Mayer Amschel Rothschild
Insight on the future outlook of the US Dollar from Michael Hudson.
David Morgan argues that although it may not be perfect, the free market is our best option.

The Tipping Point I may be wrong, but it looks like a tipping point. A host of concerned economy-watchers are beginning to understand that most…

This simple question reflected a widely held view that economics as a subject had something to answer for. For a proportion of economists (and their…

They assume that money is essentially tokens that get passed from person to person as they exchange goods. One would assume that the amount of…

Hierarchy v Self-responsibility Disintegrating hierarchy will eventually be replaced by self-responsibility - but we are not there yet. Combine a lack of strong principled leadership…






